Nice looking 602 SE hats, Erik. Do they have a serial number or not? If you mentioned that explicitly I missed it.
I have more info about various things, but it's all subject to change as more information comes to hand. I've done a reasonable amount of research on the subject, but new information sometimes appears which changes the interpretation. Here's what I believe today:
First, serial numbers started around the third quarter of 1972. This is based on a few different lines of evidence. If it is accurate, it means that any 602s with the serial number starting 0 or 1 represent 1980 and 1981 (last of the black labels before the blue labels came on the scene). I've got a large database of 602 and Sound Creation data (3,300 cymbals and counting) which has been used to test this out by looking at the distribution of first digits. However, I last did a full analysis a few years back and I've got lots more data since then. But I haven't gone and had another look yet.
There are at least 3 distinct types of 602 stamp, and I've illustrated them here:
http://black.net.nz/paiste.html
Your SE hats seem to be the Outline version. I'm still collecting data on the association between the Outline stamp and other cymbal attributes. In a preliminary analysis the leading digits (year) for examples of the Outline Stamp include:
pre serial (but possibly black label no serial)
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
0 (judged 1980 on independent evidence so it goes at the end of the series)
But all of these years also have examples of the more common Solid Stamp. On the evidence so far the Outline Stamp may predate the Black Label era (but see below) and lasts for the entire Black Label era, although at a much lower frequency than the Solid Stamp. But it's early days for the evidence and my analysis.
Note that I usually use the shorthand way of referring to the Black Label era "as if" the black ink saying "PAISTE FORUMLA 602" coincides perfectly with the beginning of serial numbers. But it doesn't. There are some cymbals which have the black ink saying "PAISTE FORUMLA 602" below the pressed in die stamp, and also have the red ink model at 3 o'clock, but no serial number. I've got a 20" flat ride like that. SE hats are different in that the model ink at 3 o'clock is black not red. But the same principles apply. And your bottom seems like it might be one of the black ink saying "PAISTE FORUMLA 602" yet no serial number.
It may turn out that the Outline version of the stamp is mostly or always on models with the very fine lathing (flat rides and SE hats being the most common, but there are others like the Morello series, the Deep Ride and maybe other Seven Sound Set models). Alas, I only properly documented the three types a few months ago and I didn't collect the right information for the first 9 years in my database. That's because I listened to others who persuaded me that there weren't meaningful variations rather than looking for myself, plus the fact that I started my project with just price estimation in mind and not collecting as much data as possible about each cymbal. *sigh*
About the patent stamps: there is a sequence of patent stamps on the SE hats and on flat rides. The earliest ones say "Pat. Pending". I've got those on my SE hats (which are 56 ripples) and on my flat ride. That stamp dates to the time between filing and the patent being issued:
Paiste Flat Ride: United States Patent 3,546,994 Filed Jan 22, 1969 and Issue Date: December 15, 1970 (but note that flat rides appeared in the Seven Sound Set before the patent was applied for, and sometimes carry the earlier name "space sound").
Paiste Sound Edge Hats: United States Patent 3,453,923 Filed Aug 3, 1967 and Issue Date: July 8, 1969
Then as patents were granted in different countries a longer list appears in the ink stamp. I haven't even done the detailed work to pin down the actual years when the patents were granted in the different countries. But I know the more countries you have, the later the cymbal. I have collected some examples of the different length of patent country lists, pending some future attempt to tie that back to other dating details.
Which brings me back to your SE hats. If they don't have a serial number but do have several countries in the patent list, that's helpful data to add to my database. And if they have a serial number, that would be great to know as well. And your homework (as a fellow researcher of obscure topics) is to count the number of ripples. I've seen: 56, 54, 52, 42, 38 on 14" SE hats. The number of ripples seems to go down over the years as a production simplification which doesn't affect the sound quality.
And cheers back from a wet and rainy Auckland, New Zealand.
Steve
